Marlin and I started this new thirty-day photography challenge; each day there’s a new subject that you have to photograph. I thought it would be good for creativity and to keep us learning when we feel like there’s nothing to shoot.

It’s day one and I already decided I was over it.

Here’s the deal. Photographers aren’t meant to do self-portraits. Our inspiration, our creative eye, and (most importantly) our confidence all come from being the one behind the camera. Trying to setup a self-portrait I was ready to pull my own hair out. Nothing I did was working, and even when it did, it was just so weird taking pictures of myself that I deleted them immediately. I can’t tell you how many times I changed what I was wearing or moved the camera setup to the other side of the room (which was extremely high-tech by the way. I propped the camera on top of a magazine box that I set on top of an upside-down hamper).

But I’m nothing if not stubborn, so I was determined that I would get a decent photo before the day was done. I don’t know if Marlin will let me show you his when he does them, but I’ll share mine. And if you wonder why I’m laughing, it’s because I’m so not cool enough to pull off the sultry look.